Green Operations

Oklahoma Researchers Work to Convert Grasses into Biofuels

November 17, 2008
• by Staff

STILLWATER, OK --- Researchers at Oklahoma State University have received a $20 million grant for their work toward converting grasses into biofuels.

According to an Associated Press report, the Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research has received a combined $20 million from the National Science Foundation and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Researchers will use the grant funds to pay for basic research on Oklahoma switchgrass that can be converted into biofuel.

Researchers also will be working with other plant and feedstock varieties, including Bermuda grass. The funds will also enable the team to hire new faculty, buy supplies and materials, and conduct an outreach education program.

Clean vehicle technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, but the direction it is moving is not always clear. A panel discussion at a recent alt fuel conference explored global trends in the space and the need for more certainty.

The key event of Shell Lubricants' Make the Future California and Eco-marathon Americas 2018 festival was the Eco-marathon mileage challenge. The competition featured 99 high school teams vying to set a new mileage mark while piloting their class-constructed vehicles around the Sonoma Raceway track. Photos: Jim Beach

The California Air Resources Board has fined Marten Logistics and Roadrunner Transportation Systems for failing to verify that trucks hired or dispatched were compliant with the state’s truck emissions regulations.

Is being green just a matter of buying the latest trucks with hyper-compliant engines? Of spec’ing the latest in aerodynamics? It’s both, of course – and much more besides says Executive Contributing Editor Rolf Lockwood.